Tu-160 bomber

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russia’s Long Range Aviation will get another 6 modernized strategic bombers Tupolev Tu-160 in 2015 and will bring the number of Tu-95MS bombers to 43, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Viktor Bondarev said on Tuesday.

“In 2015, we will receive another 6 Tu-160 planes and bring the number of the Tu-95 up to 43,” Bondarev said.

The Russian Long Range Aviation which marks the 100th anniversary of creation on Tuesday is armed with the Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers. According to previous reports, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) launched a program for these planes’ modernization. This year, pilots received after repair 9 strategic Tu-95MS and 9 long-range Tu-22M3, as well as one modernized Tu-160 bomber, named Andrey Tupolev.

Russia’s next-generation strategic bomber — PAK DA (prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation) is to perform its first flight in 2019, according to previous reports. According to Commander of Russia’s Long Range Aviation Lieutenant General Anatoly Zhikharev, the new plane will be delivered to the army in 2023-2025.